Conveyor belts are widely used to move material from one location to another. The majority of conveyors are prone to spillage of material in areas where the material is loaded onto the conveyor belt. In addition, there can be spillage along the travel path of the belt caused by uneven loading or overloading of material on the conveyor belt. Spillage of material can lead to the accumulation of “carry back”, which is material on the load carrying side of the conveyor belt that spills over the sides of the belt and lands on the inner surface of the return run of the belt. Carry back that accumulates on the inner surface of the return run travels toward the tail pulley. If the carry back is not removed, the carry back will lodge between the tail pulley and the inner surface of the belt, causing damage to the belt, the pulley or both.
In some cases, plows are mounted over the return run of the conveyor to remove carry back. The plows are usually cumbersome to install into new or existing systems. Many plows are heavy, making them difficult to lift and install between the belt runs or between the belt and structure. Other plows are large and come pre-assembled, making it difficult to fit the plows through the narrow clearance spaces between conveyor belts and their support frames. The majority of plows are made of steel. If steel components are allowed to touch the inner surface of the belt, there can be considerable damage to the surface of the belt.
Another drawback of many plows is the inability to adjust the position of the plow in response to displacement of the conveyor belt. These plows are also not adjustable in response to the wearing or degradation of the cleaning media that engages the belt. If the plow is not allowed to adjust to the vertical movement of the belt and to the wearing of the cleaning media, the cleaning media will not remain in proper engagement with the belt, preventing the belt from being cleaned. Based on the foregoing, plows that are presently used to remove carry back and other materials from conveyor belts leave much to be desired in terms of how they are installed and operate.